It was a valiant effort from the home-team San Antonio Spurs Thursday evening on Victor Wembanyama’s 20th birthday, but despite some of the best basketball they’ve played all season, they couldn’t quite get the job done against the Milwaukee Bucks.

A self alley-oop is only worth two points, but Victor Wembanyama’s dunk in the middle of the second quarter was worth a lot more to Frost Bank Center. 

The San Antonio Spurs went on the road and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies, this time with Ja Morant. They then came back home to try to get back on track with their record after beating the Portland Trail Blazers.

To do that, they had to beаt Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. That wasn’t going to be easy, even with Wembanyama back in the game.

Which was bad for the Spurs because it was too hard. They stayed close to the Bucks for almost the whole game and even took the lead late in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks beаt Wembanyama 125–121 in a tҺrilling game on his 20th birthday. 

Wembanyama had a great game. Several times during his 27-point, 9-rebound effort, he made the highlight reel. The rookie had five blocks and a steаl on defense, and Devin Vassell scored 30 points for the second time in his career to lead the Spurs. He also scored seven rebounds and four assists. 

Damian Lillard scored 25 points, but Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 44 points, grabbed 14 boards, passed the ball seven times, and stole two times. This was enough for Milwaukee to defeat Portland.

A 20-year-old Wembanyama made two free throws right away to start the game. He tried to make a layup but was fouled. San Antonio then briefly led 5-2. But that was the only time they were ahead in the first half.

The Bucks went on an 11-0 run, thanks to work from Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, and Malik Beasley. This quickly changed the game’s outcome and put the Spurs behind. They stayed there all the way through the first quarter.

Even though San Antonio couldn’t get ahead of Milwaukee, they stuck with them and kept their fans interested the whole first half. 

Do you remember that alley-oop?

Wembanyama’s All-Star-like play got the crowd going, maybe a sign of things to come in Indianapolis. But the Spurs couldn’t get back on track after falling behind by five points at halftime, 59–64. They tried their hardest, but they just couldn’t do it.

Another Bucks run to start the third quarter seemed to kιll the Spurs’ momentum before it even started, but they didn’t give up and let the game get away from them. Instead, they turned to Wembanyama. 

And the beginner did a good job.

Wembanyama grabbed a poke-away steаl to get the ball on a fast break by himself. He then wrapped the ball around his back and slandered Brook Lopez. After that, he made a circus layup and a and-1 and a 3-pointer to get his team back within striking distance. While he was shooting, he got some MVP applause. However, the Spurs were not done yet.

Dominick Barlow got hurt and had to go to the locker room. He was out of the game for a short time, but San Antonio and its fans didn’t miss a beаt. 

The Spurs kept up with Milwaukee and took their first lead with 53 seconds left in the third period. With almost no time left, Johnson made an underhand reverse layup to tie the game at 93 before the fourth quarter started.

As the fourth quarter started, Frost Bank Center got louder. The Spurs got off to a good start, just like the Bucks did in the third quarter. 

Cedi Osman and Keldon Johnson each made two straight 3-pointers that put San Antonio ahead by as many as four points. Johnson then slammed home a reverse dunk under the basket. 

After that, it was Milwaukee’s turn to answer. 

The Bucks got back on track quickly thanks to Lillard and Antetokounmpo, who also made sure they didn’t fall too far behind on the road as the game went into the final few minutes.Vassell made up for his own miss, giving the Spurs a five-point lead. But Antetokounmpo made a and-one down low to cut the Spurs’ lead to two points, and he then made a three-pointer with less than three minutes left to tie the game. 

When the power forward for the Bucks made another shot, it gave Milwaukee the lead again. But Wembanyama made one back, and the game went into the last minute tied. The game went back and forth, and both teams had chances to win. However, Jones missed a wide-open 3-pointer in the corner that would have sealed the deal for the Bucks, who won 125–121.

After the loss, the San Antonio Spurs’ record drops to 5-29. This is the third time this season that they have lost four games in a row. 

The fact that Wembanyama made his case for being a rookie All-Star even stronger was a good thing. Now, he needs to focus on beating the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road.